GREENSBORO—There's a lot that goes on between finishing a manuscript and selling millions of copies of your book. It's the business side of the book industry, and for the unitiated, it can sometimes feel like alchemy.

Once your book is published, that's when the real work begins. But the NCWN 2018 Spring Conference has plenty of classes to help you navigate the ins and outs of the book biz.

Brandon Huffman, the founding attorney at Odin Law and Media,will lead the session "Basic Law for Writers."

In this legal overview seminar, Brandon will discuss the fundamentals of the law of written works. Specifically, the presentation will cover basics of copyright for writers, copyright infringement, trademark, libel, slander and privacy and other content concerns. After an overview, the floor will be open to questions and the course will take an interactive approach to diving deeper into issues about which the audience has specific questions. This course is intended to leave writers with a sense of what legal issues they should consider as they begin creating their works.

You’ve worked hard. First draft. Edits. Reviews. More edits. Second and third and more-than-you-can-count drafts. You’re ready to publish your short stories, flash fiction, non-fiction essays or poems. Now all you have left to do is submit your work to journals or magazines. Simple, right? In today’s ever-changing publication landscape, figuring out where and how to send your work can be confusing and overwhelming. This workshop covers the submissions process from beginning to end with the overall goal towards publication.

You will learn:

How to research markets to find the right journal for your poems and prose.

How to submit your work to publications using Submittable.

How to track your submissions using Duotrope.

How to consider alternative markets like Medium or other writing platforms.

How to interpret rejection responses received from editors.

This workshop is for writers new to the submissions process or more seasoned writers who want to learn more about online tools. Note: This workshop does not cover submissions to agents or publishers for novels or other longer form fiction or nonfiction.

Additional conference programming includes "Lunch with an Author" (only available to those who pre-register); faculty readings and open mics; and the fourth annual Slush Pile Live! where poetry and prose will be read aloud in two rooms in front of panels of editors and publishers, who will raise their hands as soon as they hear something in the pieces that would make them stop reading if they came across the submission in a slush pile.

The nonprofit North Carolina Writers’ Network is the state’s oldest and largest literary arts services organization devoted to writers at all stages of development. For additional information, visit www.ncwriters.org.

How does Slush Pile Live! work? Beginning at 4:00 pm, attendees may drop off either 300 words of prose or one page of poetry in the room of their choice (prose and poetry will be read in both MHRA rooms 1214 and 1215). The author’s name should not appear on the manuscript.

At 5:00 pm, a panel of editors will listen to the submissions being read out loud and raise their hand when they hear something that would make them stop reading if the piece were being submitted to their publication. The editors will discuss what they did and did not like about the sample, offering constructive feedback on the manuscript itself and the submission process. All anonymous—all live!

Those interested in having their anonymous submission read should bring a hard copy of up to 300 words of prose from a single work or one page of poetry (40-line max) to one of the Slush Pile Live! rooms. Submissions should be double-spaced, 12-point, Times New Roman font. No names should appear on the submissions.

As many submissions as the panelists can get to in an hour, that's how many they'll read. Authors can reveal themselves at the end, to thunderous applause, befitting their bravery, but only if they want to.

“If you’ve never worked or volunteered for a publisher or literary magazine before, the submission process can seem kind of mysterious,” says NCWN Executive Director Ed Southern. “‘Slush Pile Live!’ will give attendees a peek into the editorial screening process, with the added bonus of giving feedback to anonymously submitted manuscripts in a non-threatening way.”

Other familiar programs will remain, including faculty readings, an open mic for conference participants, an exhibit hall packed with publishers and literary organizations, and “Lunch with an Author,” where conference-goers can spend less time waiting in line and more time talking with the author of their choice.

Spaces in “Lunch with an Author” are limited and are first-come, first-served. Pre-registration and an additional fee are required for this offering.

The nonprofit North Carolina Writers’ Network is the state’s oldest and largest literary arts services organization devoted to writers at all stages of development. For additional information, and to register, visit www.ncwriters.org.